Processing contaminants and additives testing

Food additives like coloring, preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilizers, flavor compounds and anti-caking agents are used to enhance the sensory appeal of foods or extend their shelf-life. However, their impact on health is a concern. Our analytical testing methods play a vital role in ensuring the safety of the general public by accurately detecting and quantifying these additives.

Processing contaminants are substances unintentionally formed or introduced during food production, processing, or storage.  Similarly, high-temperature cooking processes for starch-rich foods can produce byproducts such as acrylamide.  Some common examples of processing contaminants and acrylamide-containing foods are:

Nitrosamines can form during food processing, particularly in cured or smoked meats, processed meats, smoked or pickled fish, beer, and certain dairy products such as cheese. High-profile contamination incidents involving nitrosamines in widely consumed products, such as certain medications or baby formulas, have raised public awareness and regulatory attention to the issue.

SCIEX mass spectrometers are reliable precision instruments made to last and thanks to unique source design able to cope with the most challenging matrices, such as processed foods. Our intuitive SCIEX OS software makes lab implementation easy from the start and speeds up data analysis.

Despite the absence of regulatory limits in the European Union, a recent risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has underscored the potential health risks associated with nitrosamines in food. While acknowledging a slight cancer risk from dietary exposure, EFSA's findings emphasize the critical need for sensitive, accurate, and robust analytical methods for nitrosamine analysis. At SCIEX, we're at the forefront of ensuring food safety and protection of human health through our advanced nitrosamine testing solutions.